After the Match
by Ember Nickel
Summary: Sonnets from perspectives of different characters after Hufflepuff beat Gryffindor Harry's first match in book 3.
1. Useless: Madam Hooch

My job, my title is to referee.  
And usually I've done what I must do.  
Break up what could have started World War III  
And kept the score quite faithfully and true. 

I've stopped announcers before they could say  
Things I would not like broadcast to the field  
At large. But today has not been my day.  
To Azkaban's dementors I must yield.

But if I can't even protect a youth  
Who even now's in the hospital wing  
From these forces of evil, then in truth  
I can't face my reflection. Not a thing

Tells me I deserve to be called "Madam".  
But if not, then I don't know who I am.


	2. In the Stands: Luna Lovegood

Hey doggie! You wanna come over here?  
I can't see the match well, it's really wet.  
But that's okay. It could be raining beer  
Like in Shnatarky, but it isn't yet.

Have you ever been to Shnatarky, dog?  
My parents went there on their honeymoon.  
They drank the beer, and ate fish'n'chips fog  
And I was conceived under the full moon.

Check this out, it's the _Quibbler's_ travel page.  
It's all written up in this nice review.  
Oh no, don't eat it! You'll put me in rage  
And besides, it is not that good for you.

Look at the game, let's see the players play.  
Looks like the Seeker fell. Is he okay?...


	3. Monorhyme: Cedric Diggory

I saw them, and I thought I was insane.  
Dementors? Here? My concentrating brain  
Locked in upon the Snitch, for it was plain  
They couldn't be. But then I lost my train

Of thought as Harry fell, in anguished pain.  
My momentum was enough to sustain  
A momentary flight so I could gain  
The Snitch. From there on out it was a drain

Until now, staring at this window pane.  
We won the match, but winning was inane.  
I want a rematch, but all will refrain  
From playing again. Hope's destined to wane

Because Hufflepuff's boon's Gryffindor's bane  
Until it all dissolves within this rain. 


	4. Forth and Back: George and Fred Weasley

Ember Nickel notes: Yes, these are still being updated! George speaks first, Fred second, and they alternate from there.

"It's just a game." "He said it's just a game."  
"And that's because I'm right." "Oh are you now?"  
"Why, yes, I am, and you should know the same."  
"A game we really care about." "I vow

That you're as bad as Wood!" "Oh, that hurts deep."  
"Harry's unconscious." "Really? Do you think?"  
"Quit with your sarcasm. This is no sleep  
Of normalcy." "Look, he's about to blink."

"Of course I care about the game. Do you  
Care about anything besides your jokes?"  
"Now hold it right there. Everything I do  
You're right beside me with. All of these blokes

Know it as well as you. You are my twin  
And blimey if you don't prefer to win."


	5. Foreshadowing: Professor Dumbledore

Evil is lurking just beyond my reach.  
When I cannot even defend this field  
It seems so useless to relax and teach  
For I know there are forces that won't yield 

Until success for them, which means for me  
And all I care for nothing will be well.  
But they cannot be beaten easily  
The secrets that I harbor I must tell

To those who will continue, even if  
I cannot fight the menace of the dark.  
The time of change draws nearer, like a whiff  
Of evil blurs the music of the lark.

The time draws near. It's my task to prepare  
And even when peace lingers, be aware.


	6. Reality Check: Angelina Johnson

I watch the pattern that the falling drops  
Form on my window, idling, and muse  
How recently I thought we were the tops  
How jarring it had felt to hear us lose. 

The trek up from the field, an easy jog  
Compared to what I'd been through, streaked with wet  
Particles that have cleared up into fog  
Gave me time to wonder if someone bet

On us, and what it meant for them to see  
Our prodigy tumble, and us to stare  
At a result we didn't think could be  
But be convinced the final score is fair.

Whoever did, all I can do is say  
Forgive us, and we'll win it the next day.


	7. Numbing Numbers: Roger Davies

The score means something: usually it's such  
More meaningful, I'm ashamed that I care.  
Is it so wrong, to love the game so much  
That other things take second place? But there 

Is the crux of my paradox: for once  
I let myself think so, the slope begins.  
I turn into a cold, unfeeling dunce  
Only caring who loses and who wins.

So I'll keep silent, fear the wraiths below,  
Hope that Potter's recovery is quick,  
Do normal things, through a student's life go,  
And practice with my team. We all can stick

To Quidditch, knowing things can supersede  
It-_we can, can't we?-_I silently plead.


	8. Overrated: Hermione Granger

_Author's note: so "match" and "catch" rhyme? Learn something new every day...And yes, I'm updating this. In a rather Potteresque mood today. So...yeah. How many chapters should I have?_

The saying "all is lost" includes the match  
And Harry's injury. Does it include  
The irony so many didn't catch?  
A Quidditch player in a sour mood

Exaggerating to describe the sport  
Will likely overestimate how much  
It means in the long run. Its small import  
Isn't, or shouldn't be, enough for such

Emotion to result from it. And yet  
Fans' fervor rises, and the players' too.  
Anyone who wants to can place a bet.  
It's a matter of money, we all knew,

And perhaps more. "Of life and death", some said.  
They're almost right, if Harry's almost dead.


	9. Beginnings: Oliver Wood

_Author's note: I knew I was saving Wood for last, and I figured this message would be an appropriate one in the next couple of days._

I whisper to myself, "It's not the end,"  
Hoping that repetition brings belief.  
And if it doesn't, the message I send  
Repeatedly still tries to fend off grief.

For even if the season finished here  
We would ascend to legend. And although  
I don't want to be famous for a near  
Miss at victory, it's one way to go.

Better a win in silence than, in fame,  
A loss. But either way, I still possessed  
The chance to do what I love, play my game  
And dream that my team could become the best.

_What seems the end isn't always._ Repeat  
This to myself, and I'll transcend defeat.


End file.
